Shadow Menace
by DarkEcho397
Summary: The Doctor and a 9 year old girl must face an unbeatable monster, something that you can't get rid of no matter how hard you try. They are upon us, even now. And especially, in the dark. Good Luck, Doctor. You will need it. More than ever. **In between Hell Bent and the Season 10 Premiere**
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** This is Part I of a little short story I came up with. I hope you enjoy! Part II will be here shortly. Please review for tips!

The Doctor walked around the console of the TARDIS. He was alone, again. Besides the company of the TARDIS, he was alone. Again.

It happens every time. The Doctor continued to walk around the console. I get attached to a human, and they go off and get themself killed or worse.

The Doctor stops when he reaches the Monitor. Something is wrong.

The Monitor, atthat moment, started to flash bright red lights with the words **INCOMING DISTRESS SIGNAL** across it.

"Play message." The Doctor said out loud. He began to walk around the console again.

There was breathing, loud and deep breathing. And then a scream. A little girl screaming the word "help."

The Doctor ran to the monitor and pressed some buttons, homing in on the strange distress call.

When the TARDIS materialized, the Doctor ran out. There was a little girl, maybe 9 years of age. She had dark red hair and turned to look at the Doctor. When the Doctor saw her face, she could tell she was crying. She was unbelievably scared. And alone.

"You?" The Doctor said. "You sent a distress signal to the TARDIS? What is your name, little girl?"

"Isabella." She said in a soft, small, scared voice.

"Well Isabella, what is intimidating you?"

"Are you a Doctor?" She asked, in the same soft, scared voice.

"Yes, I am a Doctor. How did you know?"

"You're saying words I don't understand. My grandmother told me that if I don't understand something, I'm probably talking to a Doctor."

"Then your grandmother must be very wise."

"Doctor, I'm scared!" The voice changed into the frightening sound of a child in fear and alone.

"What are you afraid of, Isabella?"

"My shadow."

"Your shadow?" The Doctor asks. "What about you shadow? You don't have two, don't you?"

"No Doctor! I don't have any!"

"Well that's okay! A lot of people don't have shadows sometimes."

"But look!" She points to other people shadows. And then points out the Doctor has a shadow.

"So your shadow has gone missing. Has it done anything… Strange lately?"

"The other day, it did something I didn't do. And the day before that, I felt like it was watching me."

"So you think that the shadow is alive?"

"Yes, Doctor."

And the Doctor looked at his shadow again. And it gave him a look back. A look the Doctor was not making.

The Shadows were alive.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor started running around to random people, asking them if anything abnormal has been happening with their shadows. Most replied in the negative, but some of them didn't. The Doctor heard stories varying from shadows moving without the host person moving, shadows disappearing when everyone else had shadows, Isabella's Case, or feeling like people were being watched, when they were alone. Alone with their shadow.

When the Doctor gathered enough evidence that yes indeed something strange was going on, he urged Isabella into the TARDIS. She wasn't as surprised about the "bigger on the inside" space-time machine, but the Doctor figured it was either that she was young and her brain was still a soft pudding mix, or that she was too scared to care. When he walked inside, he ran through the Galactic News on the monitor. He got 3 total intergalactic crises relating to shadows.

The Doctor had two enemies that they could be dealing with. One was the Vashta Nerada, but he ruled them out when everyone had only one shadow. The Vashta Nerada always gave the host two shadows. His second thought was that they were fighting an ancient warrior race, the Shadowmen. According to the old Gallifreyan legend, the Shadowmen were an old race who lived as shadows. When they found a host, they were free. Most of them were peaceful and just followed the actions of the host. But the others, the warriors, didn't. The warriors were born different than the other Shadowmen. The warriors could become human.

But the Doctor had almost ruled them out because they were old. Older than even some of Gallifrey. But the thought was always in the back of his head. He glanced over at Isabella, and caught the shadow waving at him.

 _It has to be the Shadowmen._ The Doctor was fighting with himself. _What other race would dare interfere with the shadows of living beings?_

Isabella asked if she could call her grandmother and the Doctor replied with "Of course."

He handed her the phone. She rang up her grandmother.

"Hello?" A voice called. The Doctor recognized this voice, but he couldn't get at it.

"Grandma? It's me, Isabella." She replied in a soft tone. "I'm with a man named the Doctor. I'm scared."

"The Doctor, eh? Can I talk to him?"

Isabella nodded and handed the phone to the Doctor. He laughed when Isabella nodded.

"Hello? I'm the Doctor." He said.

"Doctor, this is a voice I haven't heard in a long, long time." Isabella's grandmother said.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Doctor, it's Me."

"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

"I just told you. It's _Me._ "

It hit the Doctor. "You're Me? You have a grandchild?"

"I have hundreds."

"So that's why she wasn't surprised when she saw the TARDIS. You tell her the stories. Tell me Ashildr, what to you know of the Shadowmen?"

"Ashildr?"

"That's you. Before you became Me. I keep telling you that. The last time I told you was when Clara... had her accident."

"You call it an accident?"

"You call it beautiful?"

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. Me broke the silence.

"Where are you Doctor? I'll meet with you."


End file.
